Rafa Benitez insists Newcastle United’s summer signings have improved the quality of his squad - and that each of the six offers the Magpies “something different”.

However, the Spaniard stresses that due to the age profile and past record of the summer acquisitions, it will take some of them like Jacob Murphy a little time to adapt to the Premier League.

The Newcastle manager was left frustrated by a window which, privately, he saw as disastrous, with the Magpies failing to strengthen as extensively he desired.

Alongside winger Murphy, United also signed centre-back Florian Lejeune, full-back Javier Manquillo, forward Joselu, midfielder Mikel Merino on an initial season-long loan deal from Borussia Dortmund, as well as securing the permanent acquisition of Christian Atsu.

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Merino has already established himself as a firm fans’ favourite while Atsu has started the season extremely well - but Benitez is confident the other summer signings will also prove their worth, even if it may take some a little time.

“Sometimes players with quality with Mikel, it’s easier for the fans to see what they are bringing. But the other summer signings, each one is doing their job,” Benitez explained.

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“I think the four plus one - with Atsu [and not including Merino] - signings, they will give us something at certain points. Some of them right now, some of them will need some more time, but they will give us something different and we will be a bit better when compared with last season.

“If you consider for example that people were criticising Manquillo because he was coming from Sunderland and Liverpool and saying he had not done well. But he was not coming to start the season, he was coming to stay on the bench and then, little by little, start playing more.

“But then [DeAndre] Yedlin was injured and he had to play at right-full-back, then the other day at left-full-back.

“He has given us a little bit and still he can give us much more. It’s a question of time that, over time, he will keep improving. I am happy with him and the other players who work very hard and want to improve, even if still they are not playing at the level that maybe they can play.

“You go to Jacob Murphy for example. Another one who is a young player, who trains well, trains in another way, he has Atsu and [Matt] Ritchie playing well, so he needs some time to make sure he will be fine.”

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For Newcastle’s opening match of the season against Tottenham Hotspur, Lejeune started alongside Ciaran Clark, before the ball-playing Frenchman was forced off with an ankle injury.

Yet Benitez predicts that the centre-back will soon be back in the United XI and will bring something different to the United side - and even help improve their lowly possession stats due to his technical ability.

“Lejeune, he was doing really well,” Benitez added.

Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur fouls Florian Lejeune of Newcastle United and recives a yellow card during the Premier League match between Newcastle United (Image: Getty Images Europe)

“He was excellent in pre-season, then he was injured and then Clark and Lascelles have been playing well so I wanted to carry on with them. But Lejeune is another one who can give us something different in defence.

“He will be another player that in the end I will be very happy with because he is very professional, and on the ball he is quite comfortable, and he can also win balls in the air.

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“In terms of improving our possession stats, maybe he can help with things like that.”

Meanwhile, Joselu has had a mixed start to life on Tyneside. His all-round game has been impressive but, though he has scored twice in five starts, the Spaniard has also been guilty of missing some excellent opportunities.

But Benitez believes the raw component parts are there to turn Joselu into a Premier League-quality forward.

“Joselu, obviously you know people were talking about him too. But we knew about the potential of Joselu,” Benitez continued.

“We know still he is a player that was not playing too much and he has to improve physically, and then he will improve in the other areas.

“His finishing, people say: ‘Oh no.’ He is a good finisher in training sessions, what we have to be sure is that we can replicate what he does in the training sessions in matches. It is a mixture of things though - sometimes it is the anxiety, the pressure, what you have to manage.

“He is someone who I think will do well and especially once he has competition, because remember we lost [Aleksandar] Mitrovic. You have to be sure that you have players available and that they can compete for the positions.”